Monday, October 8, 2012

I don't know about you guys but I loooove sloppy joes. I did as a child, and as funny as it is I never think to make them.... until they're served at work and then it takes all my willpower to not eat them. A while back I bought this cookbook ( The Biggest Loser Cookbook) which I absolutely LOVE and recommend it to everyone! It has a very healthy version in it. And it's quite delicious as well, so here we go! :)
SEXY JOES1 lb. extra-lean ground chicken (I actually use 99% fat free ground turkey. Ground chicken is very hard to find, though you can ask any butcher to grind chicken breasts for you. I'm just shy and anti social haha)
1 Tbsp. White Vinegar
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. hot pepper sauce (I used regular Tabasco)
2/3 C. chopped yellow onion
1/3 C. chopped green bell pepper
3/4 C. low-sodium tomato sauce
3/4 C. Chili Sauce
1/4 tsp. chili powder
4 whole-grain or whole-wheat hamburger buns (I actually use sandwich things- fewer calories!)

Mist a medium nonstick skillet with olive oil spray and set it over medium-high heat. Add the chicken. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, breaking into large chunks, for 4-6 minutes, or until no longer pink.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the vinegar, Worcestershire, honey, and hot-pepper sauce. Whisk to blend. Set aside.

Drain off any liquid that has accumulated in the pan. Add the onion, bell pepper, tomato sauce, chili sauce, chili powder, and the reserved vinegar mixture to the pan. Stir to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat so mixture simmers. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the mixture is thickened.

Last Thursday I worked out for 2.5 hours. It was pretty intense. 1 hour of aqua boot camp, 30 minutes on the bike, 1 hour of hip hop. I burned about 900 calories in that time with a total of 2600 for the day. NUTS!!!! But it was kinda fun, til I got delirious at the end lol.

I was at my parents house over the weekend and I happened to see a picture of me from 2009. That was about 35-40 pounds ago. And my reaction was to ask my mom if we could burn the picture. She said I should like to look at it to see how far I've come. I disagreed though. I hate looking at it because it makes me sad that things even got to that point. My mom says it's the angle, but I even see the difference in my face and arms. I'm going to post it just to show you guys....

May 2009

October 2012

I suppose that's all for tonight. Best of luck to y'all! Hug your loved ones. <3 JW

Monday, October 1, 2012

I have 20 minutes before I need to be in bed (and have not had a free minute since I woke up at 5 this morning. geez!) so hopefully this goes fast. :) We'll start with food.BreakfastMuscle Milk Light Cake Batter Now I'd been doing 2 scoops but I noticed that I would get so busy once I got to work that I would forget to drink it and then I'd end up throwing half of it out anyway. So today I only did one scoop with 3/4 C. milk. Cut the calories in half, but of course i was hungry (as I always am lol) 1 piece of cinnamon sugar toast that my dear friend Kelly made (she makes it the best!)Lunch1 serving Linguine Alfredo. Yum!1 Yoplait light strawberry (only 90 calories AND King Soopers is having a sale 20/$10.00 hooray!)1 Sargento light string cheese (I think around 100 calories)Snack1 Strawberry Nutrigrain bar and some plain granola :) Dinner1 serving homemade chicken noodle soup (I'll post the recipe later this week if I ever get some free time!)WORKOUT30 minutes on the treadmill (same as always)I really didn't feel like doing my leg workout today. I had planned on it but then I ended up working later than expected and I knew I had a lot to do tonight, so I opted to go for the total body workout. Hooray. :) 1. V-Sit Press. 10 pounds. 15 reps2. Scissors. 20 reps. 3. Bicycles. 30 seconds forward and 30 seconds backwards. 3 sets of those :) 1. Tricep Extension 15 pounds. 15 reps.2. Curl Up Hammer Down. 10 pounds. 10 reps.3. Bicep Curl. 10 Pounds. 10 on each arm. 3 sets :) 1. Decline Pushup. 12 reps. 2. Tricep dips on bench. 15 reps3 sets of those.DONE AND DONE! :) Calorie BalanceCalories Consumed: 1239Calories Burned: 2328Deficit of 1089Happy October Y'all! Tomorrow is Hip Hop day! Let's get excited :) ~Jessica~

Sunday, September 30, 2012

First and foremost I will post this recipe I made tonight. It will be my lunch at work this week. I haven't made it in a long time and I am quite excited to eat it! LINGUINE ALFREDO1 Tbsp Butter2 Garlic Cloves, Minced1 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour1 C. Fat-Free Milk1/4 C. Fat-Free Cream Cheese1/4 C. Grated Asiago or Parmesan Cheese1 C. Broccoli Florets1 Medium Red Bell Pepper, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces1 Carrot, thinly sliced4 C. Hot cooked Linguine1. In a medium nonstick saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Saute the garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the flour, then gradually whisk in the milk; cook, stirring constantly until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the cream cheese and Asiago; cook, stirring until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm. 2. Meanwhile, place the broccoli, bell pepper and carrot in a steamer basket; set in a saucepan over 1 inch of boiling water. Cover and steam until tender-crisp, about 3 minutes. 3. In a large bowl, combine the pasta and steamed vegetables. Add the cheese sauce, toss to coat thoroughly Serve at once. 312 Calories per serving. :) Note: I used whole wheat linguine. Also I had crushed garlic on hand so I just used that. Also I had italian cheese on hand so I just used that. I thought I had broccoli in my freezer but apparently I was wrong so I didn't use that at all! It turned out pretty yummy though. :) Source: Weight Watchers New Complete CookbookAlright, so I realized a month ago I said i'd blog every day and then I got sick. And then my bodybugg broke. And then I got sick again. And then life got very crazy busy. I am going to "Start over" tomorrow and I will do my best. Just don't get mad if I don't have the chance to blog every day- my life is pretty busy right now! :) But I'll try my best. And I will probably be posting more recipes since most of the workouts have been laid out already. Happy Sunday yall! :) ~Jessica~

Friday, September 21, 2012

Alright everyone!
I need your input! I want to know what you all are looking for from this blog. Basically what it boils down to is if no one wants to read the daily thing then I'm not going to do it, but if it's helping people I will. Let me know what you want. Love y'all!
Jessica

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Today was a better day. I didn't set my alarm with the intention of sleeping in. I had plans with a friend at 1 and really hoped I'd wake up in time to get a workout in before that. Flash to me waking up on my own at 8:45. So almost 9 hours- I guess that's decent. :) I hung out around the house for about an hour and then started getting ready to hit the gym. When I woke up I noticed that my arms were pretty sore from yesterday's workout and that made me so happy! :) CARDIOTreadmill. 35 minutes. I started to do the interval, but a bunch of times I'd either up the speed or just keep running longer than the original minute. It also depended on the song playing at the time. :) STRENGTHLeg CurlPretty self explanatory based on the picture. I did 15 reps with the weight set at 79 pounds (#4).

Leg ExtensionSame as above- 15 reps but 66 pounds (still #4).

Do 3 sets of those. :) Hip Adductor15 reps at 100 pounds

Hip Abductor

15 reps at 100 pounds

3 sets of both of these. :)

Leg Press

15 reps at 50 pounds. Make sure when you bend your knees they don't go over your toes. :)

3 sets.

After that I went over to the mat

Scissors

20 reps

When doing this one, make sure you keep the bottom foot just a few inches off the ground. As your other leg goes straight up, hold for 2 and then switch.

Bicycles

30 seconds going forward

30 seconds going backward

Sit in a V, hands behind you for stability and your legs rotate like they are pedaling. 30 seconds forward and 30 seconds back equal one set.

Do 3 sets of both of these.

DONE!

I felt great after my workout.

FOOD

This morning I had 1 cup of peanut butter cherrios and 1/2 cup of skim milk for breakfast

As I walked in the gym they were giving out samples of the graham cracker muscle milk. DELICIOUS! I may be trying that one next. :)

SnackAfter my workout I had a piece of wheat bread with 1 tbsp of peanut butter on it. It is so important to consume protein within 30 minutes of a strength workout!

Lunch

We finally went to lunch around 2:30. I ordered a wrap that was on a spinach tortilla. Inside was avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, red onions, olives, swiss cheese and hummus. It came with a side of fruit (grapes, apples, strawberries, pineapple, and oranges). It also came with a salad. I could only eat half of the wrap, but it was delicious!

Dinner

I had the other half of my wrap. mmmm!

Myapex.com is down tonight so I can't log my calories and give you a report there, but I'll update once it's back up. :)

I'll be cooking tomorrow and posting the recipe(s) so that will be good. Happy Saturday! :)

Friday, September 14, 2012

Yet again I'm writing another "I know I said I'd blog every day and I haven't" entry. This idea seemed a lot easier before I actually started it. I didn't plan on getting sick. And I didn't plan on life happening and being so crazy busy. Or two weeks of Hip Hop being cancelled. :( I miss that class- we'll be back on Tuesday thank goodness. So here's the update. 5KBack in June, I signed up for a 5k 3 days before it happened. My plan was to run part of it, and walk the rest because I just didn't think I could run the whole thing. The night before, I was talking to my friend Nick (a marathon runner) who said he thought I was underestimating myself and really could do it. Well apparently he was right because I ran that whole thing! And even sprinted across the finish line. I was so happy and proud of myself. More 5ks!Back in May, we had an engagement party for my brother and his now wife. (Hooray- sister in law!) Some family friends were there and I saw on my parents deck talking to them about the charity they started in memory of their late daughter. They said there was a 5k coming up and that we should do it. I was all for it- and this was before I'd done the first 5k! I signed up for it a few weeks ago, my parents had volunteered to work the race and I was going to run it. I now knew that I had it in me to run 3.1 miles. As the race approached (this past Saturday), I got more and more nervous. I knew people there. I knew the people putting it on and my parents would be there. I started to worry what they would think if I walked part of it. Or if I was the slowest runner. It started to stress me out and I had to just tell myself to calm down and that I was doing it for me, not for anyone else. The morning of the race arrived and I found that I was more excited than nervous. Each time I am faced with this 5k thing, I view it as a way to prove to myself how far I have come. 7 years ago I did the Homecoming 5k. Except I only walked. And halfway through I started limping. It was one of the hardest experiences of my life. And here I am running that same distance. To me, it's a big change. One that hasn't come easy, but one that I am so proud of. As we were on our way to the race, we were talking in the car. My mom mentioned to my dad that this easily could have (and should have) been them, putting on events in memory of their late daughter whose life was taken too early from a car accident. Now, it wasn't until that moment that I made the connection and it hit me like a stack of bricks. Mom was right- I shouldn't have survived my accident. It is devastating and incomprehensible that Becky didn't. :(

Dad and me before the race. :)

Right before the race was to start, there was some thanking the sponsors, participants, etc and a prayer to be said. And then I heard the worst words in the world: "Don't worry- it's only half uphill" and I started to panic. We were walked to the starting line and all I saw was hills. The other 5k I did was all flat. This was was VERY hill-y. Not to mention that the week prior, I had been sick so I hadn't gotten in as many workouts as I had hoped. I just did not feel prepared for it. I started at the front and watched as everyone zoomed on by. I tried my hardest not to focus on them and focus on my journey. I kept hearing my mother's words which led me to hear these words: "Jessica, you need to do this. Because you CAN." so though it may have been slow, I kept a running.

Pre Race :)

Every time I saw a marshal I hoped it was my mom or dad. For some reason, they weren't until the very end.

As I passed my dad he said "way to go champ" and I felt so proud that he was there to see that moment. The marshall after my mom was the final water station and after drinking water and starting to run again, I almost threw up. I decided to take it down to a walk for a minute and found the people who were in front of me had also started walking. I wanted to keep running after a little bit so I passed them, ran up yet another hill and crossed the finish line.

Mom insisted on taking a picture of me. At this point, this was as much of a smile as I could muster up.As I crossed the finish line, the guy on the microphone said "way to go Jess" which was a great feeling. I got high fives as I crossed the finish line and while I knew the people there, I do not know that they really understood what a huge deal this was to me. But maybe they did. My time was about 2 minutes longer than the other 5k. I had my fitness app running on my ipod which told me that I ran nearly 4 miles, which got me all fired up about how it was longer than a 5k, but Nick told me those things are often wrong. :) It was a tough run, both physically and emotionally. But I did it. Hooray. :) Next is the ALS walk in a couple weeks. But it's a walk, not a run. And it's only a 3k I think. Should be a piece of cake. :)Post-RaceSomething happened since the race and I'm not sure what it should be attributed to. Immediately after that I was exhausted and took a little nap on the couch.

The next day I had some stuff to do in the morning and was still tired the following afternoon but didn't have time to nap. Monday I still felt tired. I really had intended on going to the gym, but I stupidly left my gym bag at home and by the time I got home, I was exhausted. Tuesday I had plans to go down to Westminster to meet up with Nick and do dinner and exchange some stuff so I couldn't gym it up then. Wednesday.... STILL TIRED despite the fact that I'd slept 9 hours the night before. I was starting to get worried about it. Was it mono? lack of caffeine? Lack of exercise? Something else? Thursday was aqua boot camp day- I debated going and just wasn't sure. A coworker talked me into it and i was glad I went. I did feel better, though I didn't feel like I got a great workout- other people bringing me down! I did make it to the gym today though. Hooray! It wasn't just that I was tired, I also just didn't feel like me. There have been a lot of stressors in my life lately which have kind of shaken me up so maybe that's part of it. I think there's a possibility it's minor depression. Stay tuned on that- I'm hoping it goes away because I don't like it!FOODWith that being said, when I am sad...... I don't eat well. I had my entire week's worth of food in the fridge at work and someone freaking unplugged the fridge and didn't plug it in..... AGAIN (this is the 3rd time) so I had to improvise and I feel like I have done nothing but eat all week, and according to the scale this morning I've gained 2 pounds which makes me super sad. In addition to all that, my body bugg cord quit working so I had to order a new one, which is another reason I've been gone. It finally arrived yesterday so I think we may be on the path to righteousness. Today I worked on biceps and triceps. I love biceps and triceps! So here's what I did. CARDIOTreadmill at 30 minutes with a 35 minute cool-down. Same as last time with the intervals. This time they were a little different though as I generally ran a few minutes and one of my intervals got thrown off because I was paying more attention to my conversation than the clock. :) Rotation 11. Curl Up Hammer DownI LOVE THIS ONE! Get two 10 pound hand weights. Start with them at your sides. Curl them up, then rotate them and slowly bring them down. 15 reps.

2. Tricep Extension

I love this one too. The first time I ever did it was rough. I was going to Denver the next day and couldn't even reach the radio in my car because my triceps hurt so bad. This is good to prevent "old lady wavy arm". Get one 12.5 pound hand weight. I'm not even going to attempt to describe this one. Check out the picture and then hit me up if you have questions. :) 15 reps

3. Tricep Pushups.

I hate these. Just like a regular pushup except you're on your knees and your hands are directly under your shoulders. Go down until your elbow creates a 90 degree angle. Do 12 reps

When Heather worked out with me, we named these dippy dips. I love this one too. I use the bench for this, though these days it seems harder to get a bench- even on a Friday afternoon! Do 15 of these.

3. Free Motion Concentration Curls.

This is the only machine you need to use in this workout! Hooray! Stand with your back to the machine, set them on 15 pounds and using one arm at a time, do a basic bicep curl. 12 on each arm.

Stand with back to the tall silver part

Repeat 3 times.

ALL DONE! HOORAY!

I'm exhausted as I spent hours this evening going through clothes in my room and getting rid of more than one trash bag full of clothes that can be considered my "Fat clothes". Hooray. That means I need to go shopping soon for new clothes. Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with more for y'all. :)

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Everyone loves shoulders! I actually think I need to rearrange my order of workouts. Starting out with legs is good, but then it means that the next 3 days it's all upper body (chest/back, shoulders, bis/tris) and it's kinda rough. :) At any rate here was the workoutCARDIOYet again I wasn't feeling the cardio. Kinda light headed (I need to get that under control) but knew I had to get it in if I'm going to be ready for this 5k on Saturday. So I jumped on the treadmill. I did an interval training sort of thing. 1:00 incline at 2.0 Speed at 3.5 walking.5:00 Increase speed to 5.0. Run6:00 Decrease back to 3.5 walking10:00 Increase to 5.0. Run. 11:00 Decrease back to 3.5. Walking14:00 Increase to 5.0 Run. 15:00 Decrease to 3.5. Walk.17:00 Increase to 5.0. Run. 18:00 Decrease to 3.5. Walk19:00 Increase to 5.0 Run. 20:00 Decrease to 3.5. Walk25:00 Increase to 5.7. Run26:00 Decrease to 3.5 Walk. 30:00 Cool down. Incline goes back to 0, Speed goes down to 2.8. 35:00 All done :) I really like intervals. Sometimes I'll do one set interval like 3 minute walk, 1 minute run. It just depends on my mood and how much I want to change things up. :) SHOULDERS1. Hoist Shoulder PressAs it turns out I actually have some pretty weak shoulders. :( Better keep workin on those. On the Hoist Machines the settings are labeled differently. I had it set on #1 which is 45 pounds. 3 sets of 15 reps

2. Free Motion Shoulder Press

We've done this one before so I'm not going to go into it. And it's pretty self explanatory. :)

3 sets of 15 reps on 15 pounds.

3. Side Plank Pulse

3 Reps of 15 each. I actually happen to really enjoy these. They're fun! :) (We've done them before too on the last shoulder day. Refer back if you can't remember)

4. Side Plank Twist

These are also kind of fun! Position yourself like you are going to do side plank, but instead of having your feet stacked, take the top foot and cross it over the bottom. Bottom elbow should be on the ground under your shoulder, other hand on floor for stability. Twist so that you are facing the ground. Here is a picture that is similar to what I do- but not exact.

Let me know if you are having a hard time understanding. I'll either take a video of me doing it or show you. :)

Make sure you stretch afterwards!!!!!

FOOD

Okay so I feel like all I did was eat today, yet I've been starving all day long. Go figure.

Breakfast 314 Calories

I tried the Cake Batter Muscle Milk Light today. Let me just say this.... IT BLEW MY MIND! It was so good, really did taste like cake batter. Even reminded me of the cake batter ice cream I used to get at Cold Stone, which also made me realize I haven't been there in forever... and don't even crave it. Hooray. :) I did 2 scoops with a 1.25 cups of skim milk. It has slightly more calories than the apex fit lite I was drinking before but not bad. Plus 2 scoops contain 25 grams of protein! perfect! :) Seriously go get it, it's delicious.

Snack 54 Calories

I was getting slightly hungry (nothing too bad) and I was feeding the kids a snack of bananas. I had half of one leftover so I ate it. Good choices. :)

Lunch 512 Calories

Lunch had more calories than I had hoped but given the situation I was actually surprised it wasn't more. Our bosses got us lunch in honor of a coworker who is leaving us. :( WAAAAAAH! So while I did bring my lunch today, I walked into the staff lounge and it was wings. Now lucky for me I'm not a huge wing fan- I don't dislike them, but I don't ever choose them. So I stuck with my sandwich that I brought and had 2 wings and 10 fries. Just enough to say that I'd been able to enjoy the lunch, not be starving, and not overeat. All about moderation friends! I also had my little cup of diced pears.

Snack 348 Calories

Yet again... I have GOT to figure out what I'm going to do about my snack between work and the gym. I obviously can't go work out having not eaten in 5 hours....

I ran to the kitchen to see what I could find. I was really hoping for string cheese but that failed. I found some cheese slices, so grabbed 3 of those and a nutrigrain bar. Not the best choice, but it would work. I did not pass out during my workout. Always a plus. :)

Dinner 451 Calories

1 serving of crockpot bbq sandwich and I was still hungry so I had a peach muffin. I'm doing alright now as far as hunger goes. I've had a headache most of the day and I'm not sure what that's about.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

It's been so long since I've done an actual post that I didn't even remember what day I was on. We'll call it day 6 and just pretend like there was never a gap! :)Today was kind of a weird day in the sense that I felt like all I did for most of it was run around. I was running late to work this morning (which in Jessica time means I was on time) and that's never a great way to start the day. Today I'll start with food.Breakfast 294 caloriesShake like usual. The problem was that I was almost completely out of powder. This didn't come as a surprise to me. I knew that I was low and had intended on getting more at the gym on Monday, but I didn't end up going to the gym on Monday because I went to Estes Park. Oh well. I put what was left in the cup and used the same amount of milk. I don't know how much powder actually made it in there, but it tasted like I was just drinking milk. So I'm pretty sure the calories were under the usual but I don't know how much- I guess it's better to just round up. :)Snack 163 CaloriesRemember a while back when I said I needed to add a snack? Well add that to the fact that I didn't have as big of a breakfast as I usually do. My stomach was eating itself. I brought some peach muffins to work so I had one of those while I was on a van run. It gave me just the boost I needed. :)Lunch 392 CaloriesYet again I was running late this morning and never got to the store this weekend to stock up on fruit and the like so I just had a ham and swiss sandwich (this time it was just ham, swiss, mayo, no pickles or anything), a yoplait light peach yogurt and a serving of diced peaches.Snack 163 CaloriesOrdinarily I don't have a snack between lunch and dinner but I had to go to the gym. I didn't have any protein bars in my gym bag (I really need to go buy some!) and I got out of work an hour later than expected because I was helping get the new industrial size refrigerator in the kitchen. (That was quite the task!) So I had another muffin since I knew the gym was coming and I was already kind of light headed.Dinner 287 CaloriesOne serving of Crockpot BBQ Sandwiches. The calorie content is actually lower than this because the recipe I put in calls for hamburger buns and I used the sandwich thins. I'm kinda lazy tonight and didn't want to go in and change it. :)Snack 227 CaloriesAt this point I still had 297 calories leftover. Generally if it's that close I won't eat anything but I've been pretty hungry and lightheaded all day. I rarely have a snack at this time of the day too. But when I do, it's my guilty pleasure snack. So I had one reduced fat oreo with 1 tbsp of peanut butter on it. Sound weird? Seriously try it. It's heaven. And 1 cup of skim milk. Perfection. Overall I did pretty well minus the fact that I felt light headed most of the day. I should probably figure that out and fix it. ;-)Since I was feeling fairly lightheaded I opted out of the cardio today at the gym. I really wanted to get the strength training done so that's what I did. :) It was a chest and back day- those are always fun! Here's what I did!1. Lat Pulldown. These always make me laugh because the first time I remember doing them with my trainer she told me to "stick the girls out" and bring the bar down to my chest. Of course every time I do this one I am surrounded by meatheads and it just makes me laugh. :) For the first set of 15 I had it on 40 pounds. The next 2 sets I upped it to 50. Hooray.

See- she's stickin the girls out! :) After that I went over and did some mat work. This time I did a rotation. We love rotations!1. Push up to side plank. Pretty self explanatory. You do a push up, then turn into side plank. Do 10 of these. 2. Plank with Row.For this I used 12.5 weights. You go into plank, but you grab onto the weights. One at a time you lift one weight up to your armpit while staying in plank. 10 on each arm. I have a love hate relationship with this exercise.

Doesn't that just look like so much fun?! ;-)3. Plank on ball. Pretty self explanatory. Also I feel like we've done this one before. Let me know if you have any questions on form- hold this for 1 minuteRotation is over- do 3 sets of each of these. :) Here is where it got challenging because I was at the gym at a very busy time. Free Motion Chest Press (Machine)for this one, make sure you back is off the pad. I set the machine on 15 pounds. Take both arms at the same time and do a press, starting at your armpits and go straight out.

The only difference is that you should have your back OFF the pad and be sitting straight up. :)1 Arm Chest Fly on BenchHere's where it got tricky because I tried to do this one multiple times and there were never any available benches so I had to get creative. Another way to do this that helps with your core is to use a stability ball. I used a 7.5 weight and only did one arm at a time. To situate on the ball, start sitting on the ball. Then walk your feet out in front of you until you are lying down with you neck on the ball. Keep your core tight as you do each chest fly. Do 12 on each arm.

See the similarities and differences???

Decline Pushup

I actually really love doing these for some weird reason. They're fun! :) I use the bench, though you can really use any surface that is elevated. I do 12 pushups and 3 sets. (I think by now you should see a pattern)

But seriously- how fun does this look?! :)

That's the end?!

Okay remember my shake dilemma this morning? Well I decided to get some new shake powder while at the gym and they were having a sale so I switched to Muscle Milk Light. It was quite the intense decision making process but I am super excited for what I got.

CAKE BATTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!

I don't think I've ever been this excited for breakfast. :) I'm such a gym nerd. The girls at the front desk said they taste really good too. I'm pretty excited for it. Don't know which I'll try first. I'll let you know how they are though. :)

Monday, September 3, 2012

Hey Everyone!So I know I said I'd be back yesterday. Things the last couple of days have been kinda weird. I did make it to the gym yesterday for a leg workout and I'll post that in this entry but my eating was kinda weird (cereal for breakfast, didn't have lunch until after 1 and dinner was pretty non existent... followed by the headache of death and feeling nauseous and getting the chills). Luckily today I am feeling better both from that and the sickness I had all last week so I should be back FULL TIME tomorrow! At any rate, here is the leg work out!Started out with cardio on the treadmill. I walked quite a bit of it. With being out of commission for the last week and a half I didn't want to push it and make myself worse. In addition, I had outside sources messing with me and rather than just focusing on myself I found myself trying to go faster than I usually do because I felt like I needed to prove something. So that was dumb. I'm hoping I don't fall into that trap next Saturday when I run my race! 1. Single leg pressFor the first set I had the machine set to 50 pounds. For the second and third I had it on 60 pounds. Each leg does 15 reps.

2. Calf Extension

Gotta say I used to really hate this one. Didn't seem to be too bad this time. Maybe I need to up the weight. :) When I do calf extensions, I do it 3 ways. First is with feet parallel. Next is with feet turned out (like first position in ballet) and then with feet turned in. I do 15 reps of each with the machine set on 60 pounds. I do 3 sets.

Here is a video about calf extensions.

3. Plank. We've done these before so I'm not going to offer too much of an explanation. You can refer to previous blog posts for it if you need help. :) 3 sets of 1 minute plank.

4. Side Plank. Same as above but 30 seconds on each side. 3 sets.

5. Burpees. We all know how I feel about burpees. Luckily the ones on this workout don't include the bosu. :) However, I could only complete one set of 12 for I then started to feel light headed. Let's not pass out at the gym shall we??? ;-)

I had some other things to do but the machines were being used and I didn't feel like waiting so I improvised. :)

6. Abductor. Set on 100 pounds. 15 reps.

7. Adductor Set on 100 pounds. 15 reps. 3 sets.

Now I know what you are thinking. "Hey, Jessica- you only did one set of Abductor and 3 of Adductor. What is up with that?" Well I really intended on doing one on Abductor, one on Adductor and just switching back and forth, but when I got to the adductor a big scary man came over and asked if I was using the abductor.... And since I'm a giant pushover I said "oh no. you go right ahead and use it." Great choices. Do as I say, not as I do.

I may think I'm a badass, but when it comes down to it..... I'm not. :)

After all that was finished we decided to go sit in the sauna and the steam room. Now whoever decided that these were a great idea.... clearly were crazy. Here's something you may not know about me. I HATE TO SWEAT. Guess what happens in both of those places? You sweat. Copious amounts. Sick. But when it comes to that, you must remember.....

Hey! I also have a recipe for you today! :) Last weekend I went to the peach festival. Upon going I realized I'd never even bought a peach in my life. I ended up buying a small bag of them, had some of them with my lunches last week but still had a bunch leftover so I found this recipe for peach muffins.

Ingredients

(this picture is a little wrong, but mostly right haha)

1 egg

1/2 C. Vegetable Oil

3/4 C. Skim Milk

2 C. Whole Wheat Flour

1/3 C. Sugar

3 tsp. Baking Powder

1 tsp. Salt

1 C. Chopped Peaches (about 3 peaches)

1/2 C. Brown Sugar (Optional)

Heat Oven to 400 F. Use muffin cups or grease bottomos of muffin pans. Beat egg. Stir in oil, milk and fruit. Stir in remaining ingredients all at once, just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

mmmmm MUFFINS!

I ended up not using the brown sugar. The muffins seemed slightly bland and I'm sure the brown sugar would help that. Next time I make these I may try that. It made 14 muffins. Each muffin comes out to 164 calories. With light brown sugar, that would increase it to 183, so really not a huge difference.